Method of making a stiffened fabric



Patented Aug. 16, 1933 I I t UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF MAKING A STIFFENED FABRIC George Schneider, Montclair, J., assignor to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application September 14, 1935, Serial No. 40,561

4 Claims. (Cl. 154-2) This invention relates to the preparation of terial maybe controlled. Moreover, since coalesstiffened fabrics and also to wearing apparel cence takes place only upon application of heat and other articlesformed in whole or in part of and pressure, by applying heat and pressure only such stifiened fabrics. locally, ordinary or other special effects may be 5 This application is a continuation-in-part of produced. Further, since coalescence takes place my application S. No. 737,933 filed August 1, 1934, only upon application of heat and pressure, the

An object of my invention is to prepare fabrics handling of the article prior to coalescence is of any desired degree of increased stiffness and in facilitated as the layers of the article during asa simple and expeditious manner. Another obsembly and up to the time of application of heat ject of my invention is to prepare wearing apare free from tackiness, sogglness and limpness. 10

parel consisting of or containing such stiffened The products formed by my invention may be fabric. Other objects of my invention will apused for any purpose W ere a st e ed pear from the following detailed description. relatively permea le fabr c is desired. An im- Articles of wearing apparel and similar ar- Pertant applieatioh of u P c is Wearing 5 ticles are made by laminating two or more layers appa Which y he formed ill Whole in p of fabric or sheet material, at least one of which of a s r ass y of fabri s made or precontains cellulose acetate or other derivatives of pa ed in accordance with this invention. Thuscellulose, by causing the cellulose acetate or llars or uffs y b formed entirely of t other derivative of cellulose to coalesce, thus ef- Product Of this ve t t v y. shi ts fecting an adhesion between the various layers ay e ad w n t e atta hed collars. neckof fabric forming the article. The coalescence of ands, cufis, fronts or bosom-s are' made of such the fabric containing cellulose acetate or other p du ts- Hats r pa ts of ats may likewise derivative of cellulose may be effected by subbe ed of s at as may also be the jecting the assembly to a liquid medium containinner or s e bands of hats, visors fer ps, n

5 ing substances which cause the cellulose acetate linings era-Vets, stiffening aterial used or other derivative'of cellulose to soften or melt at in the m Portions f garments. s ch as Coats, elevated temperatures. In the making of stiffened to p retain e shape thereof. The fabfabrics by causing cellulose acetate or other de- Ihis Of this invention may be used for a iety rivative of cellulose filaments to at least partial-, of other Purposes; and indeed y be ed for any 0 ly coalesce, there enter many considerations that industrial technical P p e Where fabric of ar of great importance frqm t point of View increased stifiness and/or impermeability is reof manipulative steps, of coalescing agents that may be employed by manufact rers wh ld An important advantage of this invention is ordinarily engage in such work, and also from the that the fabric assembly fabrics p oy d point of view of the properties of the final prodas arting material y first be sewn 35 not. Thus, the use of volatile liquids that are ac- Otherwise Shaped quite readily Since they have tive solvents for cellulose acetate, for instance, at the Properties of and may be handled as Ordinary rdinary room temperatures, present several diffabrics. After the desired articles, such as collars,

. ficulties, such as rather high costs, disagreeable cuffs. or other wearing r l-0r parts thereof 40 and often noxious odor and inability to control are termed, y may be treated With e q d 40 the degree of coalescence and consequent stiffenthat ds in effectin the es e ce of the celing to the desired t t, r th areas where lulose acetate fabric after exposure to elevated stifiening occur temperatures and then subjected to heat and I have found that by using liquids that are not Pressure impart the ed stillness, adheactive solvents for cellulose acetate at ordinary siell 0f the Various rs,a /orimpe b y- 45 temperatures but which attack the same at ele- In this manner, the sewing of stiff pe meab e vated temperatures, as an aid to cause coalesmaterial is avoidedcence upon the application of heat and pressure, Products of this invention h ve a y de red demany advantageous results are attained. Since gree of stiffness, Which is relatively permanent. s0

these liquids are not active solvents at ordinary that y y be s bjected to repeated launder- 50 tem e t th degree of m ri of t ing without substantially losingtheir stiffness. In filaments may be controlled to any extent from this manner, the use of starch or other extraneslight closing of the interstices of the fabric to ous stiffening materials during laundering may complete closing thereof, whereby the stiffness, be avoided.

impermeability and other properties of the ma- .This invention maybe carried out in a large 55 number of ways, particularly as to the nature of the fabric or number of fabrics employed, provided that cellulose acetate in any form, such as powder, film, yarns or filamentsare present in the fabric if a single fabric is used, or in or hear at least one of the fabrics if a plurality of fabrics are used.

If the cellulose acetate is present in the form of yarns or filaments, then there should be present in the product treated at least one layer of fabric, which either consists wholly of cellulose acetate yarn, or which is a mixed fabric containing yarn of cellulose acetate either in the warp or in the weft or both, in any desired degree of alternation, with yarns of other non-thermoplastic fibres such as cotton, regenerated cellulose, linen, wool or natural silk. This alternation may be, for'instance, 1, 2, 3 or more cellulose acetate yarns with 1, 2, 3 or more yarns of cotton or other nonthermoplastic fibres. For convenience, the warp may be made with such alternation of cellulose acetate yarn and yarn of other fibres, while the weft may consist wholly of such cellulose acetate yarn or wholly of yarn of other fibres. However, the weft may consist of an alternation of such cellulose acetate yarns and non-thermoplastic yarns of other fibres, in which case, if the fabric is made in ordinary looms, the alternations will be preferably in twos or multiples of twos. If desired a fabric may be used in which either the warp or the weft consists wholly of cellulose acetate yarn while the other component consists of non-thermoplastic yarn.

Instead of employing a woven fabric, a knitted or netted fabric may be employed. Also a fabric containing mixed yarn containing both filaments of cellulose acetate and fibres of cotton or other non-thermoplastic material may be employed.

Only a single layer of fabric consisting wholly of cellulose acetate yarn or a single layer of any of the fabrics above described containing both cellulose acetate yarn or filaments and nonthermoplastic fibres may be treated by this invention, whereby relatively thin fabric having the desired degree of stiffness or impermeability throughout or only locally may be produced. Alternatively, 2, 3, 4 or more of such fabrics may be treated with the liquid that causes stiffening at elevated temperatures and heat and pressure applied to the whole surface to form a composite I fabric that is united throughout or only in local areas, by application of heat and pressure only at the desired local areas.

In anbther, and in some cases preferred, method of carrying out the invention, one or more fabrics consisting wholly of non-thermoplastic yarns, such as cotton, linen, reconstituted cellulose, wool or silk, is assembled with one or more fabrics consisting wholly of cellulose acetate yarn or of a mixture of cellulose acetate yarn and filaments and yarn of non-thermoplastic fibres, as above described, may be treated by this invention, whereby a composite fabric made up of a plurality of layers may be made. If a product is to be produced wherein all the layers thereof are united,

. it is of importance where two or more layers of fabric consisting wholly of non-thermoplastic material is used, that at least one layer of fabric consisting of or containing cellulose acetate yarn be interposed between such layers of fabric.

In another form of my invention I may employ, as the intermediate layers of the assembly, or as the sheet material which is to be coalesced to bind the other sheets together, a fabric consisting wholly of non-thermoplastic yarns and filaments which has been coated with cellulose acetate. This coating of cellulose acetate may be applied to the non-thermoplastic material by applying the same thereto in the form of a powder or as a slurry in a liquid carrier. The coating of cellulose acetate may also be applied to the non-thermoplastic fabric from a volatile solution of the cellulose acetate, which volatile solvent is permitted to evaporate prior to laminating the fabrics.

If desired, either the yarns or powder coating that contains cellulose acetate also may contain a white or colored pigment. For instance, titanium oxide, antimony oxide, lead oxide or carbonate, iron oxide, etc., may be added 'to the cellulose acetate. When white pigments are employed with the cellulose acetate, the product is whiter in color and is ndt glazed or shiny in appearance.

As instances of the manner that the various fabrics may be assembled, the following are given. In the case of collars, cuffs, etc., where an exterior of cotton or linen is desired, a layer of fabric consisting wholly of or containing cellulose acetate yarn, as above described, may -be interposed between two 'layers of fabric consisting of cotton, linen or. other non-thermoplastic fibres. An assembly that is also useful for such purposes comprises three layers of fabric consisting wholly of such non-thermoplastic yarns, with a layer of fabric consisting of or containing cellulose ace-- tate yarn between each of such fabrics.

Where a product is desired having an exterior of fabric made of or containing cellulose acetate, this may be done by interposing a layer of fabric consisting wholly of non-thermoplastic fibres between two layersof fabric consisting of or containing cellulose acetate filaments, or by forming an assembly of three layers of fabric containing'or consisting of cellulose acetate yarn with a layer of fabric consisting of non-thermoplastic fibres interposed therebetween. In this case the fabric of non-thermoplastic material may be of the desired construction to impart to the final product such properties as may be required due to its fabric structure.

These arrangements are given only by way of example, it being obvious that other arrangements with a-less or greater number of layers of fabric may be employed to obtain any desired effects.

When an assembly of two. or more fabrics is used, particularly in connection with wearing apparel or parts thereof, such-as collars, cuffs, shirt bosoms, mats, etc., it is advantageous to cut and sew them together to the desired form before causing coalescence of the cellulose acetate filaments, since it is much more convenient to manipulate them before the desired stiffness and/or impermeability is imparted thereto.

The fabric or assembly of fabrics is, in accordance with this invention, treated with a liquid that acts on the cellulose acetate at elevated temperatures so as to cause the same to stiffen, but which is preferably not an active solvent at ordinary temperatures. For this purpose, it is preferable to compound a liquid by mixing together an alcoholic material having a relatively low boiling point which alcoholic material is a solvent for the cellulose acetate at elevated temperatures, and a plasticizer for the cellulose acetate. To the mixture of plasticizer and a1- cohol may be added water as desired. The plasticizer may or may not be soluble in the alcohol,

be dissolved in the low boiling alcohol or be added thereto as a suspension. Small amounts of active solvents, for instance, acetone, may be added to the liquid.

As the alcohol constituent in the liquid that acts on the cellulose acetate at elevated temperatures, I prefer to use methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol and the like. Mixtures of these alcohols may be employed or mixtures of one or more of these alcohols with water may be used as one component of the medium that acts on the cellulose acetate at elevated temperatures. The percentage of alcohol in the liquid may vary within wide limits, however, it is preferable to employ more than alcohol.

Aqueous solutions of ethyl, methyl or isopropyl alcohol of to particularly of about 80%, concentration are very useful for this purpose.

An aqueous solution of the mono methyl ether of ethylene glycol containing say about 20% of water may be substituted for all or a part of the alcohol employed in forming the liquid having effect on cellulose acetate at elevated temperatures.

The plasticizer employed admixed or dissolved in the alcohol or alcohol and water may be any suitable one for the particular cellulose derivative or mixture of cellulose derivatives employed in the intermediate layers of the fabric, which intermediate layers are to be coalesced for the purpose of uniting the assembly. The plasticizers may be any of the high boiling solvents or softening agents as, for example, the aryl sulphonamides such as para ethyl toluol sulphonamide, the alkyl phthalates such as dimethyl phthal-ate, the dlalkyl tartrates such as dibutyl tartrate, the alkoxy esters of polybasic organic acids such as diethoxy ethyl phthalate, the polybasic acid esters of the mono allryl ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as dlethylene glycol ethyl ether ester of phthalic acid, the alkyl esters of phosphoric acid such as triethylglycol phosphate, the aryl esters of phosphoric acid such as tricresyl phosphate, the mixed allryl and aryl phosphates such as ethylglycol dicresyl phosphate, and camphor. Other high boiling plasticizers such as triacetin, diacetin, etc., may be employed. The expression high boiling as employed herein is intended to mean boiling above 200 C.

The liquid employed as an aid in. coalescing the cellulose acetate fabric may be applied to the fabric or assembly of fabrics in any suitable manner, such as by dipping, spraying, padding or brushing. A convenient manner of wetting the fabric or assembly is by padding the same with the liquid. After an assembly of two or more fabrics is treated, both sides or the assembly should be wetted with the liquid, as it is desirable that all of the layers of the fabric present he wetted therewith when heat and pressure is applied.

The so=wetted fabric or assembly of fabrics is subjected to heat and pressure, This may be done by any suitable device, for instance, by hot ironing or bypassing between pressure rolls, one or both of which are heated, or between a heated roller and a heated or cold plate or surface, or between a heated pressing iron or plate and a cold board or surface. The heating device may be heated to the desired temperatures, for instance, to 186 C. or more, and the pres sure applied may be any desired pressure, for

instance, from 10 to 600 pounds per square inch. 1: heated devices that have desired designs, such as stripes, dots, rectangles or other geo-= metric figures, and floral or other designs, embossed thereon are employed, novel efiects are obtained. Since the alcohol and like liquids are not solvents for the cellulose acetate at ordinary temperatures, only those portions that come in contact with the embossed portions of the heated device become stifiened and/or united, while the other portions retain the properties of the original fabrics. This local application of heat and pressure may be done by manually operated means if desired.

If collars or cuffs or bosoms or other articles which are to be sewn onto shirts or other articles of apparel are to be formed, it is advantageous to cut the assembly of fabrics to the desired shape or form and sew it to the shirt or other article prior to the application of the aqueous alcohol and the heat and pressure so that the assembly is stiffened by wetting with the aqueous alcohol and application of heat and pressure only after H the shirt or other article is completed.

The fabrics and articles obtained by this invention may be made more or less stiff as desired by controlling the amount of cellulose acetate yarns or filaments in the assembly of fabrics being treated; the more cellulose present, the stiffer the resultant products. The fabrics or other articles may be rendered softer by the incorporation of plasticizers, 'such. as diethyl phthalate, dimethyl phthalate, dibutyl tartrate, etc., in the aqueous alcohol or onto or in the fabrics containing the cellulose acetate filaments In order further to illustrate my invention without being limited theretofthe following examples of liquids suitable to effect coalescence of the cellulose acetate are given:-

Example 1 Parts by volume Isopropyl alcohol 75 Water 15 Dimethyl phthalate 10 Example 2 Ethyl alcohol 72 Water 18 Dimethyi phthalate; 1d

' Earcmple 3 Ethyl alcohol. 72 Water l8 Mono methyl ether of ethylene glycol For making fabrics to be used for making any desired article, there is employed an assembly of two layers of cotton or linen fabric with an interposed layer oi fabric consisting wholly of acetone-soluble cellulose acetate filaments or a fabric containing both cellulose acetate yarn and cotton yarn in any of the desired constructions as has been described. This assembly is then wetted on both sides with any of the liquids described above. Thercupon the assembly is pressed with a hot iron or calender to cause the cellulose acetate filaments to coalesce to form a stiffening material in which the fabrics are united. By controlling the degree of heat and pressure and/or selection of the types of fabrics employed, the degree of heat and pressure and/ or selection of. the types of fabrics employed, the degree of stiffness may be controlled. Generally a semi-stiff fabric is formed, which retains its stiffness after repeated laundering so that the use of starch or like material is not required.

While this invention has been described particularly in connection with yarns or filaments of cellulose acetate, such cellulose acetate yarns or filaments may be replaced in whole or in part by yarns or filaments of other esters of cellulose such as cellulose formate, cellulose propionate,

cellulose butyrate, etc., or yarns or filaments oi ethers of cellulose such as methyl cellulose, ethyl 'cellulose and benzyl cellulose, etc., in which case suitable liquids having the required properties for aiding coalescence under heat and pressure will be selected.

It is-to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is merely given by way of ii- I lustration and that many variations may be 2. The method of imparting stiffness or other properties to collars, cufis and like parts of wearing apparel consisting of layers of textile fabric, one of which contains cellulose acetate, which comprises applying heat and pressure thereto at least locally in the presence of a liquid containing a substantial amount of water, an alcohol anda plasticizer selected from the group consisting of triacetin, diethyl phthalate, dimethyl phthalate and dibutyl tartrate.

3. The method of imparting stifiness or other properties to collars, cuffs and like parts of wearing apparel consisting of layers of textile fabric, one of which contains an organic derivative of cellulose, which comprises applying heat and pressure thereto at least locally in the presence of a liquid containing an alcohol, from 15 to 18% of water and 10% of dimethyl phthalate.

4. The method of imparting stiffness or other properties to collars, cuffs and like parts of wearing apparel consisting of layers of textile fabric, one of which contains cellulose acetate, which comprises applying heat and pressure thereto at least locally in the presence of a liquid containing an alcohol, from 15 to 18% of water and 10% of dimethyl phthalate.

' GEORGE SCHNEIDER. 

